Virgil van Dijk has signalled that he sees Dominik Szoboszlai as his long-term successor as Liverpool captain and said Alexander Isak was not affected by the vitriolic reception he received on his return to Newcastle.
Isak was whistled and jeered in his first match at St James’ Park since his controversial £125m move to Anfield last summer.
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Liverpool got a point in a 2-2 draw courtesy of Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute penalty – with the new vice-captain, rather than Isak, taking it, while the Sweden striker was quiet.
But Van Dijk felt the choruses from the Newcastle fans were not the reason, saying: “I wasn’t [wouldn’t be] affected by it if I was him. I don’t think he was affected by it. He tried to play his game. There were good moments and there were moments he could have done better, like all of us. I don’t think that impacted him.”
Szoboszlai was Liverpool’s player of the year last season and began the new campaign with a goal, with Van Dijk praising him for holding his nerve amid the pressure.
“He took plenty already and he scored plenty,” he said. “Not a bad hit. He has the quality. He has shown it in the penalties he took in previous years. It was quite a high-tension penalty and it shows how good a player he is.”
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Szoboszlai was added to Liverpool’s leadership group by new head coach Andoni Iraola after the departure of vice-captain Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah.
The other three members of the group – Van Dijk, who is 35, Alisson and Joe Gomez – are in the last season of their respective contracts while Szoboszlai signed a new five-year deal.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored from the spot to rescue a point for Liverpool (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)
And Van Dijk said: “Every leadership group is important. Obviously there is experience and there is someone in terms of Dom who has been the captain of his country, and that will only help him to be part of this group.
“He has to take responsibility to take that on his shoulders and it is going to benefit us also in the long run with Szoboszlai signing a new deal. He will be here to take over.”
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Liverpool are continuing to search for Salah’s replacement and had two bids for Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh rejected last week and Van Dijk hopes for more signings.
He explained: “Everyone wants to see quality arrive regardless. I fully trust the club and the board to make the right decisions. That’s the only thing I can say.”
Virgil van Dijk also admitted that it will take Liverpool a while to get used to Andoni Iraola’s methods (PA)
Van Dijk admitted it will take time for Liverpool to adapt to Iraola’s methods and style of play.
He said: “I think it is absolutely normal in any type of profession or work that if you come in new and you have new plans and ideas that it takes a bit of time.
“It is down to us to do it as soon as we can. We want to improve. We want to win. We want to do better. That is what we are going to try and do from tomorrow.”
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